CapitalO: (5. Nov 2007 18:48)

Sphecomyrmex- Sounds like that could be a difficult picture to get :). I'll see what I can do though, hopefully the ants havent gone into hibernation yet.

JimmyVe- I was thinking about digging up a colony and taking a queen and some workers. Normally, I would be against disturbing a colony in this way but since S. invicta is such a prevalent and harmful species to the region, I can somewhat justify it. Since it is so late in the season, will this affect my success in keeping the colony?

JimmyVe: (5. Nov 2007 22:53)

In deed i'm not fund of digging up a colony nether, but in this case i understand it. ;)

You've got a point there, if i'm not mistaken they do not keep a hibernation so they still will be quite active. In my opinion, you could capture one now. They are strong ants and they adjust really good. But be ware they have a nasty sting and if you are going to dig them up they will attack.
If you want to read more about them, you can look here, much info about these ants.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_imported_fire_ant

CapitalO: (6. Nov 2007 00:18)

Thanks for the help Jimmy, its very appreciated :D

I have had quite a few encounters with fire ants, so I know how nasty they can be. Fortunatley, I have a fairly mild reaction to their sting compared to others- my friend got stung in the leg this past Sunday. Today, he said his leg, from his ankle to his knee, was tight and felt like it was burning; the site of the sting was really swollen as well. Luckily I have a bit more tolerance and the negative effects subside with 6 hours or so. The tolerances for fire ant stings tend to vary greatly between individuals, another friend of mine is highly allergic to their sting and has gone into full anaphylactic shock before. He caries an epipen anytime we go hiking or mountain biking.

[1] [2]